Is There a Worthy Trade in Nanotech?

For the final “Mad Mail” of 2010, Cramer started with an e-mail from Katine about Monsanto . She wondered if he thought her thesis for the stock, that an increased need for food despite the decreased availability of water would mean big business for MON, would hold up for the long term. Cramer urged her to leave Monsanto entirely if she wanted to play that trend and buy Deere instead.

“I think it’s much cheaper and much better run than Monsanto,” Cramer said.

Mad Mail

Mad Money host Jim Cramer answers your emails.

Leslie asked if Baker Hughes , up about 40 percent for the year, would continue its run or if she should buy another oil-service stock. Cramer told her to stick with BHI, calling the stock “terrific,” but he did say he likes Schlumberger and Weatherford International even more.

Larry wanted to know why Limited Brands , which Cramer recently recommended, had gone nowhere since. Cramer said that while many people might think to sell the stock as the holiday season comes to an end, he still likes it. LTD is cheap, he said, and investors should consider buying it.

Evan said he didn’t know why Cramer would call a company like Thompson Creek Metals too speculative, though it has strong earnings, while recommending another spec stock, NovaGold Resources . Was it a question of growth? Proven reserves? Something else? Both companies have unproven reserves, Cramer said, but both George Soros and John Paulson have sent geologists to NovaGold’s mines. They’ve found what they think is the largest gold repository in North America, and that’s why Cramer likes NG. He thinks it maybe the stock of 2011.

John asked Cramer if he had any picks in the nanotech business, but Cramer urged him to stay away. The “Mad Money” host called nanotech a fad, saying he’s “never made any money in it.”

And finally, Jeff wanted a play on water. Cramer offered PerkinElmer, a testing and cleaning company that is cheap.